There are a number of signaling devices on the market today. The primary purpose of these signaling devices is to provide some sort of output such that it alerts anyone within its reach of a particular event. One of the most common types of signaling devices is a visual device such as a white strobe. These devices are common place within fire emergency systems. Upon activation of these devices, the white strobe is illuminated such that it is seen or visualized by individuals within the area. The inherent problem with sole visualization warning devices is that there are not easily detected in all areas. Secondly, these sole visualization devices are effective for those individuals that are not visually impaired.
Other prior art devices use single color illumination devices to warn of a specific event. For example, emergency phones or communication devices on college campuses are identified or located with the blue strobe. If the need arises, an individual is able to identify these device from its blue illumination. However, like the previous devices, the illumination is not easily detected or seen from certain areas or angles. Secondly, these illumination devices are limited by which colors they are able to activate. As a result, these illumination devices can only indicate a single event or status. In the case of an emergency, the single event is the location of the phone. These devices are not able to illuminate functional status by altering the illumination color.
The downside to visual only type indication is that the indicator is not necessarily viewable to the end user at allow times. Many times the indicator is located behind a wall or machine or located on a machine not in the line of sight of the operator. The effectiveness of the indicator is thereby greatly reduced.
Incandescent visual devices are further hampered by their short life span especially if they are activated on a number of occasions for any reasons. This short life span makes maintenance and upkeep in locations like office buildings and industrial complexes very difficult. These locations literally contain hundreds to thousands of these devices.
The audio devices are separate devices from the visual indicators and are generally linked to a similar system. These devices require their only special wiring and mounted location. These requirements both add complexity and expense to the overall systems.
Other prior art signaling devices are audio in nature. These devices, similar to the visual devices, are hooked to a central station. Upon activation, the audio device or speaker delivers an output. The audio sounds generated through the device are intended to be heard by individuals within the area to warn them of a particular event or status.
The problem or disadvantage with the aforementioned devices is that they either generate a tone or transmit an audio sound. These prior art devices are not capable of generating both tone and voice messages in a single device.
Another inherent problem with sole audio device is its ability to communicate its message to those within the area. Accommodations within the area can greatly effect the distance to which the audio signal is transmitted. Therefore, the accommodations in the area have to be taken into account when installing the device. Furthermore, the audio signal is less effective on those individuals that are hearing impaired and in those locations that have high levels of noise such as assembly lines or machine shops.
In order to offer the advantages of both devices and counter the disadvantages of both the devices, many locales in the United States or other parts of the world require that office building and industrial locations be equipped with both visual and audio locators. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus that offers both the capabilities of audio and visual alerts or indications in a single device such that each capability can be activated together or separately. Furthermore, there is a need to provide a visual indicator that is able to illuminate in a variety of colors in order to indicate a plurality of events or status. Additionally, there is a need to provide an audio device that is able to provide prerecorded tones or voice.